We certainly weren’t the first Jews to Iberia.They probably arrived over 1700 years
ago during the Roman times.Judaism arrived and was practiced at the same time as Christianity.By the time Islam conquered the
peninsula, Jews had a long history there. But under the Islamic rulers Jews
flourished in the professions, in philosophy and in communal life.Even as Islam was beaten back by the
steady advance of armed Christianity over 400 years, the Jewish community in
Christian territory remained relatively strong and independent. Only in the
last hundred years before expulsion did the Jewish communities of Spain (but
not of Portugal) come under pressure to convert or leave. Expelled by Ferdinand
& Isabella in 1492, Jews went to many places, but the largest group moved
to Portugal. For reasons of political alliance, the Portuguese king followed
suit several years later and expelled his Jews.In both countries, many Jews went underground and the legacy
of being Conversos (secret Jews) was carried by families for 500 years.

Our first stop was Portugal. Though the major cities like
Lisbon and Oporto have small active Jewish communities today, it is not there
that the vestiges of old Sfarad or of the Conversos are to be found. But in the
small towns of the interior, away from the heavy hand of the 16th
century Inquisition, and away from the hand of 19th and 20th
century urban redevelopment, the ancient links can be seen.For example, the town of Castello da
Vide:

Castle on the hill (this had been a fortress town on the
frontier with Spain). Churches at the left.The Jewish area was to the right, below the castle but
away from the churches.

Street in Castello da Vide.The ancient synagogue is on your right.Compare its upkeep with the private
homes on your left.

Front of the synagogue.The left-hand door (with the mezuzah notch) had been the
main (ie: men’s) entrance. Women’s door to the right.

The old ark for keeping the Torah.The structure beside it is unclear
– probably it held the Eternal Light.

There are no Jews today in Castello da Vide.And only two in Tomar (for more on Tomar read this Travelogue). But they are
from a family who had been Conversos for 490 years and just “came
out” about 20 years ago. They have located the old synagogue, they raise
the funds for its restoration, and run it as a small museum.

Inside of the synagogue/museum. All the furnishings are
donations from elsewhere – the building itself had been a hay storage
shed before restoration.

The pillars are original (though restored).We were told the four represent the
Biblical Matriarchs.

Among the objects here is this stone from the Great
Synagogue of Lisbon, dated 5067 (1307).Click on it to enlarge if you read Hebrew.

This is the information sign (in English) which
accompanies the stone shown above.Click on it to enlarge to get the translation and history.

In Portugal, where old neighbourhoods still survive,
it’s possible to seek out the narrow streets, look for the rundown
buildings with the arched doorways, and still find the telltale notch in the
doorway that betrays the former location of a mezuzah.

But not in Spain. There, 500 year olds houses have been
demolished or renovated. But the narrow streets persist. And the streets
often announce their past. “Calle de Juderia” (Street of the Jewish
Quarter) say the signs, mounted in recent years by municipalities with a
clear eye on tourism

Cities vary in how much they play upon their Jewish
past.In Seville, the Barrio Santa
Cruz (Sacred Cross), the former Jewish neighbourhood, is today a trendy warren
of narrow streets with pricey pensiones and popular tapas bars.The ornate iron-wrought Santa Cruz
cross stands exactly where the Great synagogue of Seville used to stand –
though no marker or government brochure of any kind makes reference to that
fact.
Cordoba, in contrast, makes a big display of its having been the harmonious
meeting place of the Three Great Religions.(perhaps it’s a little overdone – but it comes
as a healthy antidote to the Jewish distorted historical view that we always
lived in harmony with our Muslim cousins but only suffered under the Church.)

Specially honoured is Maimonides, who lived in Cordoba in
the 12th century CE and who, with his buddy the Muslim philosopher
Alvarroes, had much to teach the Church about the synthesis of Aristotelian
rationalism and Biblical faith.

One of the former synagogues survives (though most of its
interior beauty has been lost) and is a regular fixture on the tourism route.

In Toledo two synagogues (out of
11) survive (though no Jewish community).The grander one was closed for renovation, but we did join the busloads
of tourists in the other.It had
been built (around 1100 CE) in Muslim architectural style, with rows of support
pillars capped with arches

Not surprisingly, subsequent
Christian regimes felt the need to redeem this building.Note the Christian artwork on the
walls from its era as a church.

Jewish life in Catalunya (today
northern Spain) followed much the same pattern it did in the rest of the
peninsula – expansion, persecution, banishment. In Girona, a walled
medieval city now a pretty university town, we spent an afternoon in a Jewish
research library located on the Call – the Catalonian term for the old
Jewish neighbourhood.

Located
within the library/museum is a section of the old street and buildings where
Jews had lived.

Located
within the city walls is a ruined tower where the towns Jews had been rounded
up and died

In Barcelona we went to both a
small synagogue (poorly attended) and a Jewish film festival (well attended),
though we have no photos from these.

But we did find the Barcelona
Call by following the rabbi’s directions to an old building he claimed
had been a medieval synagogue. He warned us there was no marker on the
building, but said that any place we found recognition of the Dominicans we could
probably assume we had stumbled upon the old Jewish area – apparently
the Church gave them the franchise on Jewish souls